Bryan races too close to call

A problem with vote tabulating equipment combined with tight races left the race for the District 1 seat on the Bryan County Board of Commissioners and the District 4 seat on the Bryan County Board of Education too close to call at press time early Wednesday morning.

In the contest for the commissioner’s seat, political newcomer Noah Covington, a Republican, was close to garnering enough votes in the three-way race to avoid a runoff.

Just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, Covington was leading with 49 percent of the vote to incumbent Democrat Joe Kendrick’s 28 percent and former commissioner Rufus “Ed” Bacon’s 23 percent.

Any one of the candidates would have to receive 50 percent plus one vote to win outright. If no one does, the top two finishers will meet in a runoff Dec. 4.

“I appreciate everybody’s support. I appreciate everything they have done for me,” Covington said. “I thank God. God has been good to me. I am very humbled by the support I have received. It is an honor, and it is an honor to know that I am going to represent Bryan County when this thing is all said and done.”

Meanwhile, another political newcomer, Marianne Smith, and Jeff Morton were locked up in a close race in the special election for the Bryan County Board of Education post.

Early Wednesday Smith had 51 percent of the votes to Morton’s 49 percent.

In both races, the number of ballots remaining uncounted was enough to possibly sway the outcome, Elections Supervisor Sam Davis said.

Even though there were only two contested Bryan County races on the ballot, voters in the county turned out in large numbers. Before voting began on Election Day, more than 7,000 residents — 36 percent of the county’s 19,513 eligible voters — had used advanced voting to cast their ballot.

Turnout on Election Day continued to be strong, according Davis.

“There have been no problems, just a lot of folks voting,” he said.

Davis estimated earlier that as many as 70 percent of eligible voters in the county would cast ballots.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website early Wednesday morning, 66 percent of the voters in the county had cast ballots in the election.